author
M. B. M. (Mary Bertha McKenzie) Toland
d. 1895
A 19th-century American poet with a flair for long narrative verse, she also played a prominent role in San Francisco civic and charitable life. Her books range from romance and fantasy to California-themed poems shaped by the landscapes and legends around her.
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About the author
Born in 1825, M. B. M. Toland wrote under the name Mary Bertha McKenzie Toland and is remembered as an American writer, poet, and well-known figure in San Francisco society. She was also associated with major charitable work there, especially after the death of her husband, physician Hugh Toland, founder of Toland Medical College.
Her writing appeared mainly in book-length poems and verse romances. Among the works connected with her are Stella, Sir Rae, Onti Ora, Aegle and the Elf, Eudora, Legend Laymore, and Tisáyac of the Yosemite. The titles alone show her wide interests: romance, fantasy, and stories drawing on California settings and themes.
Toland died in 1895. Today she stands out as a writer whose literary career was closely tied to the cultural world of the American West in the late 19th century, blending popular poetic storytelling with a visible public life.